


The Offer Stands

by asterism87



Category: Blade (Movie Series), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2014-12-06
Packaged: 2018-02-26 20:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2665802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asterism87/pseuds/asterism87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the job offer of a lifetime</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Offer

Fury had offered her the job before SHIELD had been exposed. He’d shown up at her front door in Los Angeles on a Saturday morning decked out in all black as though the clear blue skies and bright yellow sun were merely inconsequential to the image he kept up.

Karen had crept up to the door, stake in hand, and looked through the peephole for a solid 30 seconds before realizing who was behind it. Blade had told her before he left for Russia that someone like him might show up, taping a small picture of Fury on the back of the card that contained Blade’s phone number in case she was in dire straits. He didn’t say that she should trust him, although Blade never trusted anyone so that wasn’t new, but he did say that he could help her.

She placed the stake in the waistband of her pajama pants and opened the door.

“Coffee,” he said as he offered her a cup and stepped over her threshold.

Her hands automatically closed around the cup and she shut the door. Fury had made his way to her kitchen and after sniffing her cup and discovering it was her favorite blend (as well as quickly testing it for hidden drugs and finding it empty) she took a swig and padded after him. She sat down at her breakfast bar and listened intently as Fury gave her the job offer of a life time.

\-------------------------------------------

She hadn’t accepted right away, instead asking for time to think about it. Fury seemed to accept this, giving her a calling card for whenever she came to a decision. She watched him drive away from her apartment complex and closed the door, locking it securely. She absentmindedly turned the card over in her hands, walking over to her couch and laying down, her arms on the cushions serving as a rest for her head and her legs curling up to her chest. She turned on the TV to morning cartoons, preferring the nonsensical hi jinks to the utter silence of her house while she thought about what had transpired in her kitchen.

His offer was tempting but she had a pretty good set up so far, working at a hospital and doing more hematological work. She had friends who she ate lunch with on Mondays and Wednesdays to get through the first day of the week and hump day. She had neighbors that she said hi and bye to whenever she saw them and who always smiled while waving. She had a cat who liked to act like a dog, giving up all pretense of affectionate aloofness, instead preferring to snuggle into her at every turn. She had routines that were about more than just surviving through the day.

Sometimes Blade called and sometimes she still dreamed about vampires and most nights she couldn’t sleep without having UV lights on inside her house and a stake beneath her pillow but she was making it. She was doing it. She was building a semblance of a normal life and she was hesitant to throw herself into the fray again although Fury promised it would only be a research position. But when you work for an entity like SHIELD nothing is “just a position” and there would be things she would be signing on to that she wasn’t necessarily prepared to go into again even if it was by her choice.

She stretched her limbs, huffing as she rolled over unto her back and stared at the ceiling looking for answers between the textured plaster. It wasn’t offering any so she covered her eyes with her hands, hoping that at least would offer some type of clarity, some hint as to what the right path is.

There was a heavy weight on her chest and she moved her hands away, staring up at the cat who was sitting on her, head cocked to the side as if to ask his human what the hell she was doing.

“Feeding time right,” she said as she scratched the back of his head.

He purred, pushing into the touch and then jumped off the couch walked towards his food bowl and turning around to face her, instructing her to follow. Karen huffed a bit and chuckled to herself quietly. Fury’s offer would be there. She didn’t have to figure everything out in the next few minutes or even the next few hours. With that in mind she rolled off the couch and walked over to the kitchen to feed the cat that had become a part of her beloved routine.

\-------------------------------------------

When she found out about Fury’s death, she was in her lab analyzing some samples. Blade had sent her a text that said: _Fury’s gone_ .

Karen paused. She had been agonizing for days about what the right decision would be. She had even considered shooting Blade a text to ask him for his opinion but she realized that was ridiculous. The chances of Blade responding were exceedingly small. He had vampires to hunt and whatever else he did in his time. She never sent the message but she also never came to a decision. She hadn’t known if Fury would wait indefinitely but she acted as if he would, constantly pushing thoughts of decision making out of her mind as she continued with daily life, instead choosing to focus on the now instead of the future.

_Fury’s gone._

Those two words made the choice for her. Her thoughts ranged from cursing herself for being so cowardly to being grateful that the choice had been taken out of her hands.

\-------------------------------------------

Her eyes scanned the samples through her microscope while she sat at her lab table, hand poised to take notes on what she observed. Her other hand was idly tapping on the side of the table when someone cleared their throat. She rolled her eyes and looked up to find Fury standing in front of her with a cup of coffee in either hand. He had dropped the trenchcoat and eyepatch but his outfit was still definitively black, as if his wardrobe refused to let him look like anything other than a superspy or the member of a jazz ensemble.

“Heard from Blade lately,” he said as he handed her a cup.

Of course he survived. Fury was practically unkillable she thought ruefully. She accepted the cup with both hands and took a sniff. Fury had brought her favorite mix from the coffee shop around the corner from the hospital. She didn’t ask how he knew her favorite blend and held it between her hands while she waited for him to explain why he had shown up in her workplace after he had been presumed dead. There was no way he was here just to grasp how often she communicated with Blade. He met her gaze and said cheerily, “It’s pumpkin spice because after all tis the season,” as he tipped his cup in her direction.

There passed several beats of silence. The only sound was Fury blowing on and consequently consuming his coffee.

She squinted her eyes, realizing that he wasn’t going to divulge anything unless she spoke. Her thumbs ran up and down her cup as she thought of her last interaction with Blade.

“Blade doesn’t really reach out much. The last contact I got from him was a postcard from Vienna a few days ago.” She placed her cup on the lab table while she said this, her left hand cradling her cheek as she placed her elbow on the table. Fury took another sip of coffee.

“He never liked to say hi, always seemed to want to stay away from the Tower.”

Karen raised her eyebrows, curious as to what exactly Blade had to do with Fury’s presence at her job. She doubted that Blade would ask for favors; he was more of a sink or swim type of guy.

“As you may or may not know SHIELD has been compromised-“

“Everyone knows that.”

“Well the good news is that the blip you made on SHIELD’s radar was your cure for vampirism. Your file is relatively small but-”

“But depending on what people want or need my life may potentially be in danger,” she finished wryly.

“Our lives are always in danger,” he told her levelly. He brought the drink to his lips again and drank.

“So why are you here,” Karen said while straightening up. “You didn’t come here to tell me that SHIELD’s been compromised and you couldn’t have come just to tell me that my life’s in danger because my life has been in danger since that vampire latched itself to my throat so why are you here Fury.”

“The offer still stands,” he said.

“The offer to work for SHIELD.”

“No the offer to work for me.”

“I don’t really see what my work as a hematologist could possibly offer to whatever organization you consider yourself a part of now.”

He tossed her a USB, tilting his head towards her computer. "Plug it in."

She glanced down at it, then proceeded to do as she was told, seeing as this was the first real thing that Fury had done since he'd walked into her lab.

She opened the file that appeared on her computer screen; it flooded her desktop with pictures of Captain America, The Hulk, a strange man with a mechanical arm.

"What am I supposed to make of this Fury?"

"That, Karen, is your job." He placed his cup on her lab table and made his way to behind her chair. 

"I've dealt with vampires, Fury, not super soldiers and superheroes."

"Consider it a chance to expand your horizons."

 


	2. The Tower

_God no wonder Blade hates this place._

 

If Karen were to describe Stark Tower in a word, it would be excessive. The height, the furnishings, the technology, the staff, her lab, her room, everything just reeked of money. As much as she appreciated the luxury, she couldn't help but miss the space she had shared with Blade and the Whistler. The fact that she was required to live here and work here was only offset by the fact that she was back in New York again.

 

God she had missed her city. The lights, the sounds, the smells it just felt like home. Her feet took her all over the city revisiting old haunts. She stopped by her old apartment and Blade’s old place, packed with her stakes, vampire pepper spray, and silver bullets of course, and just let the sensation of being home wash over her. Because as much as Los Angeles had been a beautiful city with a sun that never stopped shining, it would never replace the city where so much of her life had developed and changed.

 

That isn't to say that it wasn't hard. The first few nights she couldn’t sleep. She sat in bed with her weapons surrounding her and the UV lights that Stark had considerately installed glaring until day break. On some level she knew that there was no way a vampire would be able to get into the Tower. It was state of the art, security systems so advanced it seemed almost impenetrable, and even if a vampire did manage to get inside, there was a building full of superheroes to prevent them from hurting her.

 

 

Pepper had made sure to remind her of this as she showed Karen to her rooms the day she arrived, obviously intent on making her feel as safe as possible. It was almost too easy, as if Pepper had repeated the security speech dozens of times, as though she was used to people scared of being thrown into a fight in the safety of their home. Well, considering what happened with Stark and the Mandarin, Pepper probably felt it on a personal level.

 

Karen wondered if she ever had nightmares.

\-------------------------

As to why she had been offered a place in the Tower, she figured it had more to do with Fury wanting to keep an eye on her than any formal invitation to join the Avengers or SHIELD or whatever they were calling themselves now. Since her work now involved the lives of multiple members of his team, she couldn’t deny his need to keep her close. She thought of herself as more of a contractor who received room and board than a team member.

 

Although, technically she was on a team, a team consisting of Dr. Banner and Tony Stark. Well scratch that. Banner was her partner and Stark was the annoying tag-a-long who couldn’t seem to understand the concept of silence or personal boundaries.

 

_God no wonder Blade hates this place._

 

Stark’s rich white boy act was bound to get him stabbed with a stake at some point and his insistent hovering and monologuing (although he seemed to believe he was actually engaging in conversation) was wearing her patience very, very thin. She had half a mind to text Blade about Tony’s impending demise at her hand, but she could already picture that little smile he got whenever he was amused. It was as close as Blade got to dying of laughter. Just thinking about it brought a smile to her face.

 

_I have to get Blade to visit._

 

“So what you’re telling me is that vampires exist, vampirism is a disease and you cured it within a span of days,” Stark said incredulously as he invaded the lab that she and Banner were working in. Wherever Banner went, Tony somehow managed to follow like a cat coyly following its owner.

 

_Don’t kill him Karen, don’t kill him._

 

 “I don’t know Mr. Stark, you have all of my files why don’t you check,” she said while calling on reserves of patience that she didn’t know she possessed.

 

Banner caught her eye and shrugged helplessly as if to say, “I know this is horrible but please bear with him.”

 

She narrowed her eyes slightly and returned to gathering the materials she would need to get blood samples. Stark was like a fly constantly buzzing in her ear, but if she just went about her business and let him ramble, it seemed like they would both walk out of here alive.

 

As Stark droned on about Blade and vampirism and her retrovirus, she asked Jarvis if Captain Rogers and Bucky Barnes were available to meet her in the lab today, cutting into Stark's neverending spiel. She thought she caught something about her being brilliant in there somewhere but based on the put out look on Stark’s face, she wasn’t bound to hear that again any time soon. Banner’s shoulders were silently shaking as Jarvis replied, “It seems that they shall arrive within the next 10 minutes, Dr. Jenson.”

 

“Thank you Jarvis.”

 

Stark scowled slightly and looked at Banner as if to ask for his help, but Banner just smiled softly and shook his head to show he wasn’t a part of it.

 

“Bruce, why is she here again?” Stark asked petulantly.

 

“I do believe you just spent the past 10 minutes telling us why she’s here,” Banner said simply with that smile still on his face as he made eye contact with Karen.

 

She had to admit that she had some reservations about Banner when she had found out that they would be working in the same space. She had heard stories about the Hulk, seen the destruction he had caused with her own eyes. It was hard to believe that Banner held so much power within him; his presence was so cathartic. She'd hesitate to call him the most normal person in the Tower, but he was definitely the easiest to be around.

 

Stark scowled more severely and opened his mouth to undoubtedly say something that would get him stabbed when Rogers, Barnes, Wilson, and Romanoff walked in.

 

She struggled to contain her eye roll.

 

As beautiful as these people were, their need to constantly be in each other’s presence was odd and borderline codependent. She raised her eyebrows at Wilson, hoping for some sort of explanation as to why all four of them were there, but he just shook his head slightly as if to acknowledge that he had lost control of his life. Seems like his counseling skills and psychological knowledge were no match for the superheroes he involved himself with. She resolved to ask Wilson out for drinks sometime; unpowered black coworkers had to stick together after all.

 

She sighed softly as she ushered them towards two stools next to a lab table. Romanoff and Wilson seemed willing enough but Barnes and Rogers were a bit reluctant. She wanted to laugh at them, truly she did, but considering all that they had been through, particularly Barnes, it probably wouldn’t be her place. Instead she settled on sitting across from them and saying, “I won’t hurt you. If you’re not ready we can certainly do this another day.”

 

Rogers turned bright red and Barnes scowled deeply at the implication that they couldn’t handle needles; it didn’t help when Stark’s peals of laughter filled the room at their reaction. She was wondering how quickly her anti-coagulant would kill Stark when Romanoff walked over and whispered something in his ear. His laughter stopped short and his face paled.

 

He coughed into his hand and made to stand up as he said,“Well, I have some important meetings to attend to and don’t have time to watch your little pack-“

 

Natasha cleared her throat.

 

Stark got off his stool and walked briskly out of the lab, calling out “Later losers” as he went through the door.

 

This time it was Banner's laughter that filled the room as he made his way to sit beside Karen.

 

Karen whistled low and looked Romanoff up and down.

 

“I like the way you work, Romanoff. If it had been me Stark would have wound up with a  stake in his chest.”

 

Romanoff tilted her head and smiled slowly.

 

“Call me Natasha.”

 

She walked over to Barnes and grasped his hand. Some of the tension left his shoulders when Stark had left and when Natasha had reaffirmed her presence at his side, some of the color seemed to return to his face. Karen looked at Captain Rogers to assess his panic levels and he seemed to be fine, resting his head on Wilson’s shoulder while they held hands and waited for Karen to begin. She couldn’t tell if they were two couples or a foursome but whatever they were it seemed to be working for them.

 

“Like I was saying if you guys want to do this another day it’s alright I completely understand.”

 

Rogers shook his head.

 

“We’re ready when you are, Dr. Jenson,” his blue eyes unwavering and reflecting his resolve. Jesus he looked like Karen was going to kill him with an empty syringe.

 

She leaned forward and said, “If you're really good, I'll give you a lollipop.”

 

Rogers barked out a laugh then seriously extended his arm. 

 

"Cherry please."

 

She looked at Banner and he ran to get the lollipops while she got a syringe and prepared to draw blood. Rogers turned his face into Wilson's shoulder and braced himself.

 

"You know it'll hurt more if you tense up."

 

Wilson squeezed his hand and whispered something in his ear, something that made that red color return to his face and his shoulders relax.

 

She really didn't want to know.

 


End file.
